Sports gambling, Pete Rose and MLB's slippery slope
Major League Baseball is nearing a slippery slope.
Americans bet a record $57.22 billion on sports last season. Sports gambling is legal in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Charlie Blackmon is the first active Major League Baseball player to endorse a bookmaker. Pete Rose was banned from baseball for 30 years for gambling. The new collective bargaining agreement allows players and coaches to participate in sports betting. Rob Manfred believes in the future of in-game betting as a form of increasing fan engagement. He also believes that baseball is in bed with gambling now. The commissioner believes it will increase fan interaction. It used to be that marketing and sponsorship deals with legal sportsbooks were restricted to MLB and team entities, but they were prohibited for players.
